Photographs Of Newcastle

For 165 years furniture from family firm Chapmans has been a part of thousands of North East homes.

In 1970 the firm opened its present headquarters on Market Street, Newcastle, the former site of Tilly’s Ballroom – a move which was forced because of the development of the central motorway. And when Norman H Chapman died aged 88 in 1972, Donald Chapman became joint manager with his brother Robert.

In 1990 Donald Chapman retired and was bought out by his brother Robert and nephew John, who became managing director, becoming the fifth generation to become part of the family business. Now, to mark the closure of the store, the firm intends to have a closing down/end-of-lease sale starting the end of April and running throughout May.

Managing director John Chapman said: “This is categorically not a liquidation sale.

“The reason for closing is that, with our leases expiring, we have researched and considered the huge additional costs we would incur, together with the fact that the current tough trading conditions look set to continue for some considerable time to come.”

Description courtesy of The Journal.